Through
France without tolls

From
Calais to southwest France & Spain without tolls

► Option no tolls
at all

This
is not the most sensible option, since
the few euros saved by not paying any tolls - even for motorhomes
- will be offset by a longer route with more stress, and lots
of stopping and starting as you go through built-up areas, rather than
skirting round them.
For this reason, the details of the no tolls option are indicated below.

►Option minimal tolls

Paying
a few euros in tolls on a 1000 km journey pays for itself
in time saved and less stress. This route offers the best balance
between speed and toll costs for driving from Calais to the
Spanish border at Irun, near Bayonne.

The tolls that are worth
paying:Calais
to Abbeville on A16 : 8 EurosSouth
exit from Rouen on A 13 > A154 : 2.10
EurosMotorway
round Tours: 1.80 Euros ( 2 x 0.90 Euros)88 km
of the A63 - the last 88km of the route, avoiding the long
built-up area around Bayonne and Biarritz. Cost 11.90 EurosTotal
recommended tolls (2014): about 24 Euros for a
car, or about 36 €uros for a normal motorhome, RV
or
camping car.Time
saved by paying tolls: about 2 hours.

Route
guide:

Leave Calais on the A16
/
E402 motorway following signs for Boulogne,
Amiens. The toll
section starts just before Boulogne.
Just before Abbeville, take the free A28
/
E402 motorway to Rouen.

Entering
Rouen the A28
becomes the N28.
Follow on down through the tunnel, then across the Seine.

After that,
follow signs for Paris
and Evreux
then Evreux & Orleans .
You will join the A13
motorway west of Rouen.
About 10 km south or Rouen, leave the A13 motorway for the A154 motorway. Toll gate at the
intersection.
Then follow the A154 > N154
dual carriageway almost to Dreux.At
Dreux, follow signs for Chartres
and Orleans.After
Dreux, the
N154 is almost all modern dual-carriageway as far
as Chartres.
From Chartres follow the
N 10 to Chateaudun, Vendôme and Tours.
This is
mostly single carriageway for 130 km, but there are sections of dual
carriageway, notably round Vendôme. Before reaching Tours,
the N10
becomes the D
910.
On approaching Tours, follow signs for the
A10 motorway, and join it at junction 19.
Skirt round Tours on the toll motorway, then exit at junction 23, following the
sign for D910
to Montbazon
Follow the D 910 all the way to Poitiers,
skirting round the city. After Poitiers, the D910 once more turns into
the
N 10 , which you now follow almost as far as Bordeaux. It is dual
carriageway virtually all the way. Join the free
A10
/
E5 motorway shortly before Bordeaux,
then follow signs for Bayonne.

South
of Bordeaux, the motorway is replaced by dual carriageway
(divided highway) route nationale, the
N 10 / E5 ,
for most of the way to Bayonne.
The N10 becomes the
A63 toll
motorway from exit 10 About-France.com strongly recommends
taking the toll motorway from this point for the last 75 kilometres
to the Spanish border. The cost (2014) is 7.40€ for a
car, 11.30€ for a car plus caravan; but this will save about an hour
in normal traffic conditions. The Bayonne area is built-up and
busy. The A63 links directly at the
border to Spain's Autopista A-8, and thereafter to the Spanish motorway
network.

Hotels
along the route - all very easy to find
Coloured markers on the map indicate handy hotels close to
the
road. Click any marker for details. Direction indications for reaching
hotels are for southbound traffic.

Alternative route avoiding all tolls :
a) Boulogne:
Leave A16 motorway at exit 29, and follow D901 > D1001 as far as
the entrance to Abbeville, where you take the Free A 28.
b) At Rouen,
before reaching the Seine, take exit at the entrance to a short tunnel,
for D6015 marked Vernon, Cergy Pontoise. Follow D6015 as far as Le
Vaudreuil, then join the free A154 > N154. But beware of weekday
traffic
congestion in 2014, following the Rouen bridge fire.
c) At Tours,
do not join the motorway, just keep following the green signs for
Poitiers
d) Approaching the Bayonne
area, leave N 10 before it becomes the A63 toll motorway. Take Exit 10,
signed Bayonne in green. Follow the D810 through to the Spanish border.
Warning:
this last toll-free alternative will take up to an hour longer than the
motorway

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Avoiding the tolls on the
Calais - Tours - Irun route to southwest France
and Spain

Map Key:(clickable
markers)

Upscale or classic independent hotels
with
character

Four-star and quality three star
hotels -
chains
such as Mercure or Novotel

Budget and economy hotels - 2 or 3
stars
chains such as Ibis or Campanile